The 37th annual Aiken’s Makin’ opens on Friday with various art vendors and local food options for the public.

The two-day arts and crafts festival will be held on Park Avenue from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The festival will continue on Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Local food vendors, various artists displaying their crafts and family entertainment will be available for all ages.

John McMichael, co-chair of Aiken’s Makin’, said every year gets a little bit better because comments from community members and vendors are taken into consideration. McMichael also said at Aiken’s Makin’ last year, Dumpster Depot came out to clean up all the event’s recyclables.

“I think last year they got about 50 percent, which is really extraordinary for its first year,” McMichael said. “They are back again this year, and we are looking forward to them being a part of it.”

Attendees can view exhibits and purchase art from more than 70 different vendors, from pottery and ceramics to jewelry. Craft vendors include needlecraft from Polka Dot Birdie, jewelry from Bella Eleganza and art from Arnold’s Art from the Heart. Food vendors include burgers and cheesy fries from The Willcox, freshly squeezed lemonade from Cohn’s Concession and barbecue from Papa Russ’s BBQ. Other vendors include Ted’s Street Food, Philly Attraction and Party in a Pita.

“There will be roughly 30 percent of vendors who will be new to the event,” McMichael said. “We continue to tweak the set up, but there aren’t going to be any big changes.”

Aiken’s Public Safety will also be very involved, making sure attendees have a safe experience throughout downtown Aiken.

For more information about craft and food vendors to local area accommodations, visit aikensmakin.net.

Maayan Schechter is the city beat reporter with Aiken Standard and started with the paper in July.

Related Stories

Comments

Notice about comments:

Aiken Standard is pleased to offer readers the enhanced ability to comment on stories. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point.

We do not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click the X that appears in the upper right corner when you hover over a comment. This will send the comment to Facebook for review. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website. Read our full terms and conditions.